Tamping machine



Feb. 23 1926.

C. S. EMERT TAMPING MACHINE Filed April 14 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 67562-163 S. Emert Feb. 23 1926.

1574,379 C. S. EIMERT TAMPING MACHINE Filed April 14 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q I [IL/12542! C/zar/as ST Emcrif Feb 23 9 1926.

c. s. EMERT TAMPING MACHINE Filed April 14, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l g/ ig? Patented Feb. 23, 1926.

CHARLES S. EMEBT, 0F PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

TAMPING MACHINE.

Application filed April 14, 1924. Serial No. 706,252.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. EMERT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tamping Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawin s, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates more particularly to machines used in the manufacture of concrete blocks, such machines being provided with a plurality of tampers which tamp 0r pack the piastio material into a. mould, from which the finished product is removed and set aside to cure.

One object of my invention is the provision of suitable means for raising the tampers one after the other, and providing in connection with this raising means, a mounting for a portion of the raising means whereby when the tampers are not being operated, no contact will be established between the driving mechanism and the raising means.

Another object of my invention is the provision of means for holding the tampers in an elevated position, such means being interconnected with the means for moving the raising means to a position of no contact with the operating mechanism, to the end that these parts may operate harmoniously and be controlled from a single pedal or lever for. starting and stopping the operation of the tampers.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a drawer or frame which, when the machine is in operation, surrounds the upper portion of the mould in a manner to prevent waste of the material being tamped into the mould.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a feeder by means of which the material is fed into the mould during the tamping operation.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a. plate which may be moved to a position at the top of the mould, and against which the tampers may strike to finish the top surface of the block, the drawer previously referred to serving the purpose of a strike off to leave sufficientof the plastic material at the top of the block for the proper operation of the finishing plate.

Other objects of my invention will appear and be described more fully hereinafter.

The novelty of my invention will be more fully set forth and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1

Sheet 1 is a side elevation of a tamping ma chine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 Sheet 2 is a plan view of the top portion of Fig. 1, some of the parts below this top portion being omitted.

Fig. 3 Sheet 2 is a sectional plan view of Fig. 1 taken on the dotted line 3-3.

Fig. l Sheet 3 is an enlarged detail side elevation of the tamping bar holding mechanism, for holding the tamping bars in elevated position. 7

Fig. 5 Sheet 3 is a detail side view of one of tamping bar fingers.

Fig. 6 Sheet 3 is a front view of the finger operating lever.

Fig. 7 Sheet 3 is an enlarged sectional side View of a portion of the feeder mechanism.

The same numerals of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the figures.

In its preferred form of construction and as shown in the drawings the machine comprises a frame consisting of vertical members 1, horizontal members 2, and angularly arranged braces 3, these parts being preferably of structural steel of a size and weight suitable for the purpose.

Across the top of the machine the main drive shaft 4 is mounted as by suitable bearings 5, this shaft being provided with a drive pulley 6 by means of which it is rotated through the medium of a belt from any suitable source of power. The drive shaft 4 carries a plurality of cams 7, one for each tamping. member, the cams 7 being suitably spaced apart as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. In addition to the set of cams 7, the drive shaft l carries a sprocket 8, shownmore clearly in Fig. 2, and a second sprocket 9, the sprocket 8 driving a chain 10 which in turn drives a sprocket 11 which rotates the elevator shaft 12, the latter carrying sprockets 13 over which the chains 14: operate, these chains being connected together by conveyor flights 15 operating in a trough 16. I

The sprocket 9 of the drive shaft 4 drives a chain 17 which passes downwardly and over a sprocket 18 which is loosely mounted on a crank shaft 19, the sprocket 18 being provided. with a clutch member 20, shown more clearly in'Fig. 3 with which a sliding clutch 21, splined to the shaft 19, may be engaged through the medium of clutch lever 22, this clutch being normally held out of engagement by a spring 23.

Referring again to Figs. 1 and 2, the upper rear portion of the main frame carries a crank shaft 24: which forms the fulcrum for the tamper levers 25, which are formed of a pair of parallel members spaced apart and provided with rollers 26 with which the cams 7 cooperate, there being one of the levers 25, for each of the cams 7, the forward end of each lever 25 engaging with the upper end of a tamper 27, the latter being mounted in adjustable vertical guides 28 and 29 carried by frames 30, the latter being mounted on channels 31 secured to the main frame of the machine. Each tamping member 27 carries a removable foot 32 at its lower end. Each tamping member 27 is notched intermediate its ends as at and is provided with a stop with which a finger 35 cooperates, when moved to proper position, to hold the tamping bar elevated.

By referring to Figs. 1 and 5 it will be seen that the fingers 35, one of which is provided for each tamping bar 27, are mounted on carriers 36 which in turn are loosely mounted on a rock shaft 37, carriers 36 being counter-weighed at 38 so that they will be normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by gravity, the counter-weight being arranged to accomplish this, and to prevent too great a movement of the fingers 35, a stop 39 is provided and carried by the upper channel 31.

The rock shaft 37 carries a double T shaped lever d0, which is held to the rock shaft by set screws and the upper portion of which carries a plurality of pins 11, each of which is held in its extended position by a coil spring 42, there being a pin ll and spring 42 for each of the fingers Referring now to Figs. 1, 3 and7 the machine is provided with a hopper 13 into which the trough 16 discharges and from which the material is fed to any suitable block mould 14 shown more or less diagrammatically, and which may be of any suitable construction to form the blocks into the required size and shape, and as shown more clearly in Fig 7 the back 'wall 1-5 of the hopper extends downwardly to a point short of contact with the bottom 46, and the front wall 47 is also made to stand some distance above the bottom 16. In the space thus left, a feeder operates, and this feeder consists of a top plate as, and member 19 and bottom plate 50 which slides upon the bottom 46 of the hopper. The top plate 4:8 is attached to a scotch yoke 51 which has a rearwardly projecting guide 52, the latter riding upon a roller carried by a cross member 5a in the rear of the main frame.

The crank shaft 19 carries a crank 55, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, which carries a pin 56, the latter traveling in the scotch yoke 51, the construction being such that if the crank shaft 19 rotates, the feeder is given a reciprocating motion to feed the plastic material from the hopper 1-3 to the mould lat.

A drawer consistin of side members 57 and front member 08' is provided and mounted at the lower portion of the hopper 48 so that it may be moved from the full line position of Fig. 7 to the dotted line position shown at 59, in which position the sides and end of the drawer form sideboards around the mould so that the plastic material as it is fed into the mould is all delivered into the cavity of the mould and is prevented from spilling over onto the floor, and, as shown more clearly in Fig. 7 the front member 58 is cut away at its lower edge as shown at 60, the cut away portion extending from one of the side members 57 to the other so that the lower edge of the member 58, between the side members 57, is raised above the bottom level of the drawer to the end that as the drawer is pushed from the dotted position 59 to the full line posi tion, the bottom edge of the front member 58 acts as a strike-off for the material in the mould, and carries the surplus material back into the hopper or holds it ready for delivery into the mould for formation of the next block.

After the drawer has been moved to the full line position of Fig. 7, the finishing plate 61, shown in Fig. 1 is moved from the full line position to the dotted line position 62 where it rests upon the material in the mould and the tampers are again operated for a few strokes to finish the top of the block. The plate 61, pivotally carried by a pair of arms 63, one being located on each side of the hopper 43, each of these arms being carried by a pivotal block 64, the latter carrying a rearwardly extending arm 65, the rear ends of the two arms 65 being connected by a cross member 66 which carlies a counter-weight 67 these parts being shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the construction be 'ing such that the counter-weight 67 normally holds the plate 61 in the full line position of Fig. 1, and returns it to this position when the plate is released.

The rock shaft 87 which carries the fingers 85 for the tamping bars 27, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, carries a crank arm 6 to which three connectingrods are attached, the connecting rod 69 extending downwardly to a pedal 70, connecting rod 71 extending upwardly and rearwardly to a crank arm 72 on the crank shaft 24, and the connecting rod 73 which extends upwardly to the lever 7.4. which is pivoted to the frame as at 75 and carries at its rear end, a counter-weight 7 6, the latter being sufficiently heavy to hold these parts normally in the position shown in Fig. 1. v

Any suitable operating handle 77 is provided for the mould 44% to operate its parts.

Any suitable tightening device such as the roller and quadrant 7 8 may be mounted to maintain the chain 17 at proper tension.

The tamping bar guides 28 have been described adjustable, and it is to be noted that these guides are as made of two halves mounted on the members 80 and adjustable with relation to each other by means of adjusting screws 79.

The connection between the upper erds of the tamp bars 27 and the levers 25 is preferably made by means of a pair of plates 80 attached to the tamping bars, the fprward ends of the levers 25 passing between these plates and a roller 81 being mounted between the plates above the forward'end of each lever 25.

The operation of the machine is as. follows, assuming the parts to be as shown in Fig. 1.

It is assumed that the trough 16 and. the balance of the conveyor mechanism leads to a mixer or other suitable source of supply for the plastic material such as concrete and that the drive pulley 6, is connected by belt to a suitable source of power such electric or other motor.

Assuring himself of a supply of plastic material the operator starts the motor or driving mechanism for the shaft 4. After the elevator has brought up and deposited into the hopper l3 sufficient material, the operator pulls out the drawer 58 to the dotted position of Fig. 7, and engages the clutch members 20 and 21 by means of the lever 22, thus starting the delivery of plastic material to the mould, and depresses the pedal which rocks the shaft 37 to move the lever 40 away from the finger carriers 36 and also rocks the shaft 24 to move the levers 25 rearwardly and downwardly to bring the rollers 26 into the path, of travels of the points of the cams 7.

As soon as each earn 7 strikes its roller 26, one of the levers 25 is raised slightly thus raising one of the tamp bars 27 and permitting the fingers 35 and its carrier 36 to move by gravity from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 4:, which permits the tamping bar 27 to drop by gravity as soon as its cam has traveled beyond the roller 26, it being noted that the shaft 4: must rotate clockwise when viewed from the position of Fig. l.

The next cam to contact with a roller26 performs the same action with relation to V the tamping member controlled by it, and so permitted to drop in succession as the cams operate. 7

VVhen sufficient material has been intro duced into the mould by the feeder, the lever is released and the spring 28 disengages he clutch members to stop the rotation of the cam shaft 19 and the action of the feeder 'it is raised by its cam being held in elevated position by its finger 35 it being noted that the rotation of the shaft 4 is at a sufiicient speed to cause the tamping members 27 to over-run the exact lift of the cams 7 a suiiicient distance to raise the steps 34: to permit the fingers 35 to engage under them.

The operator next moves the drawer 58 to the position of Fig. 7 thus striking off the top of the mould, and then moves the finishing plate 61 to the dotted position 62 of Fig. 1 and again depresses the pedal 70 to permit each tamping member to strike the finishing plate one or more blows as required whereupon he releases the pedal 70 and the finishing plate, the former stopping the machine and the latter assuming the full line position by reason of the counter-weight 6 Next, through the operation of the lever 77 or the mechanism with which the mould t is provided for opening it or discharging its product, the finished block is removed and the mould made ready for the next block, whereupon the drawer 58 is again pulled out and the process repeated as before described. i

It is to be noted that the plastic material elevator operates from the shaft 4 and also that the crank shaft 19 is driven from this shaft through a clutch so that the operation of the feeder, in delivering the material to the mould may be controlled by the operator and started or stopped as desired.

It is to be noted that the crank 72 of the crank shaft 2 4;, Fig. 1, is made in the form of a segment with a number of holes for engagement of the connecting rod 71, to the end that the relation between the parts may be adjusted by simply removing the connecting rod from one hole to another. The function of this part of the machine is to move the levers 25 downward at their rear end'to bring the rollers 26 into the path oftravel of the cams when the crank shaft 24- is rotated clockwise as in depressing the pedal 70, and to raise these levers and rollers to a clearance position when the machine is not operating. ,1

To prevent breakage of the parts in event of dropping of the tamping bars into an empty mould, a bumper 82, in the form of a;

piece of angle iron is mounted above the forward edge of the main frame upon cushion springs 83, the position of the bumper being such that the levers strike it before they strike the bottom of the mould.

If desired a clutch similar to the clutch 20 and 21 may be installed to drive the sprocket 8 of the shaft at so that the elevator mechanism may be stopped or started at will.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In a tamping machine the combination of a frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, a plurality of cams on the drive shaft, levers cooperating with the cams, a movable fulcrum for carrying the levers, tamping members moved by the levers, fingers for holding the tamping members in elevated position, means for moving the fingers, and connections between the finger moving means and the movable fulcrum for the love to move the levers out of the path of travel of the cams when the fingers are moved to engaging position.

2. In a tamping machine the combination of a frame, a drive shaft carried thereby, cams carried by the drive shaft, levers mounted above the cams, a movable fulcrum for the levers to move them into and out of the engaging position with the cams, tamping members connected to the levers, fingers for holding the tamping members in elevated position, yielding means for causing the engagement of the fingers with tamping members, means for operating the latter means, and means for moving the movable fulcrum for the levers to move the latter out of engaging position with the cams when the fingers are moved to engaging position with the tamping members.

3. In a tamping machine the combination of a frame, adrive shaft carried thereby, cams carried by the drive shaft, levers for receiving motion from the cams, a movable fulcrum for the levers, to move them into and out of engaging position with the cams, tamping members carried by the levers, fingers for holding the tamping members in elevated position, means for moving the fingers, connections between the finger moving means and the movable fulcrum to move the levers out of engaging position with the cams when the fingers engage the t-amping members, means to normally hold the fingers in engaging position and the levers out of engaging position, and means for moving the fingers out of engaging position and the levers into engaging position.

4. In a tamping machine the combination of a frame, a drive shaft carried thereby, cams carried by the drive shaft, levers for receiving motion from the cams, a movable fulcrum for the levers to move them into and out of engaging position with the cams,

tamping members carried by the levers, fingers for holding the tamping members in elevated position, means for moving the fingers, connections between the finger moving means and the movable fulcrum to move the levers out of engaging position with the cams when the fingers engage the tamping members, a counter-weight for normally holding the fingers in engaged position and the levers out of engaging position, and means for moving the fingers out of engaging position and the levers into engaging position.

5. In a tamping machine comprising a frame which carries tamping members and means for operating them, the combination of a mould, a hopper for plastic material adjacent the mould and to discharge therein, means for delivering the plastic material from the hopper to the mould, a combined strike offand drawer movable to a position to retain the plastic material in the mould during the tamping operation and to strike off the material for the finishing operation, and a finishing plate movable to a position at the top of the mould for finishing the upper surface of the product of the machine after the operation of the combined drawer and strike off.

6. In a tamping machine comprising a frame carrying tamping members and mechanism for operating them, the combination of a mold, a plastic material hopper adjacent the mould to discharge therein, a combined drawer and strike off forming a substantial closure for the hopper when in one position and a plastic material retainer for the-mould when in another position and a strike off for the plastic material when moved, a feeder in the hopper for delivering plastic material to the mould, and means for moving the feeder.

7. In a tamping machine comprising a frame carrying tamping members andmeans for operating them, the combination of a mould, a hopper for plastic material adjacent the mould and for discharging into the latter, a combined drawer and strike off forming a substantial closure for the hopper when in one position and a retainer for the plastic material in the mould when in extended position'and for striking off the plastic material when moved from extended to closed position, a reciprocating feeder in the hopper for delivering plastic'material to the mould, and clutch controlled means connected to the tamping mechanism for operating the feeder.

8. In a tamping machine comprising a frame carrying tamping members and means for operating them, the combination of. a mould, a hopper for plastic material adjacent the mould and discharging there-into, a combined drawer and strike off, a feeder in the hopper for delivering plastic material to the mould, and a finishing plate for finishing the product of the mould after the operation of the combined drawer and strike off.

9. In a tamping machine the combination of a frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, tamping members carried by the frame, operating levers connected to each tamping member, a cam carried by the drive shaft for each operating lever, a movable fulcrum for the operating levers to move them into and out of engaging position With the cams, counter-Weighed fingers for holding the tamping members in elevated position the counter-Weights normally moving these fingers out of engaged position, and yielding means to cause the engagement of the fingers With the tamping members When the movable fulcrum moves the levers out of engaged 20 position With the cams.

CHARLES S. EMERT; 

